I dunno. JMS has definitely pulled back a lot since the days of B5. It seems obvious that he probably had an idea that the cancellation was possible (probable?) but that he wasn't notified personally of the final hammer going down. If I were him, I'd be pissed.

That said, I keep feeling that there may well be a lot we don't know - and may never - that may have happened behind the scenes. The whole thing about the options lapsing, for instance. And the massive change between seasons JMS mentioned in this answer to my question:

There's more there than just the money aspect, I think. But it's all just a vague feeling but there's something about the "...I'd say it was more even-handed..." that strikes me as a bit off.

And he's said a whole lot more than Lana has, especially considering that season two was entirely her baby - even given the Ws famous shying away from publicity.

Yes, Jan... I get the same hunch. His responses have just been a bit blunt and muted. One thing that struck me as a bit odd was all the mentions of re-writes on set. I know JMS was always very very against any changes in his scripts or dialogue on B5. I wonder if that was a bit of a sticking point?

Yes, I am speculating massively here. But, I do sense a bit of distance, distance that I hadn't expected. Maybe he's just resisned to it as he's been through this all before with Crusade.

__________________Captain John Sheridan: I really *hate* it when you do that.

Especially since JMS mentioned how crowdfunding wouldn't work. Obviously we don't know if Netflix is open to the idea of getting other companies to fund one of their shows, but why else would he mention the idea of one in the first place?

__________________"Fascism always comes in quietly, holding a flag in one hand and a holy book in the other, inching its way in. The bugles and drums only sound after they've already taken over and believe it's too late to do anything about it." JMS Twitter Dec. 24, 2017

"We have no idea ... for six months they were ready to renew for a third season, then, suddenly, last week was canceled . No explanation ... just numbers ..."

About the campaign:

Quote:

"It's making a lot of noise In Los Angeles and has no precedent such a protest ..." commented Malerba in response to the supporters of the series, who decided to resubmit the request until it was accepted.

What remains unclear — and frustrating for some in Hollywood’s creative community — is the lack of transparency around what lives and dies at the streaming giant.

“No one had the expectation that they were going to keep every show they ever made on forever,” one TV lit agent told Variety. “It would be nice to know the metrics they use to make those decisions, but we’re not going to know that.”

A second agent who spoke with Variety added, “The upside to not knowing the ratings and being able to renegotiate a higher rate based on them was the confidence that the show would be renewed. It’s sobering to see that Netflix is destructible.”

Trying to make sense of what happened, they have an analytics firm report that according to their data, since Netflix never release their own, Marco Polo, The Get Down and Bloodline - all of which have been canceled - were "the least streamed new seasons of any hour-long Netflix original series in the U.S." and as we know they carry huge budgets. This is in contrast to Stranger Things, Orange Is the New Black, Marvel’s Luke Cage and 13 Reasons Why which were the four most streamed during the same period and cost way less money.

Sense8 is nowhere to be found on either list. They also made the mistake of reporting season 1 of the show had a $9M/episode budget (which Malerba said was the budget of season 2) and since they list no source (internal or not), I get that they simply recite what they sloppily read online.

__________________
My posts are my own opinion and do not represent JMSNews.com's opinions or views. As it's written under my handle I'm "just a fan".

In our current socio-political climate where our policies are worryingly favouring closed borders and the promotion of fear of those who are different from us in anyway, I dare anyone to defy that the loss of a yet another show that fights those stereotypes and misappropriations is a good thing. Sense8’s focus on how empathy can resolve most problems caused by ignorance and fear is one the world could really use right now. And you know what? The representation of people of colour and people from diverse backgrounds on a major show could really touch someone feeling alienated by society. The fan petition might not bring the show back as fans would want, but we would be just as happy to gain an opportunity for the cast and crew to return for a one-off special that can provide some sort of closure to a series that means so much to so many for so many reasons.

Bizarrely, they write the show premiered in 2013.

__________________
My posts are my own opinion and do not represent JMSNews.com's opinions or views. As it's written under my handle I'm "just a fan".

They can speak for themselves. I'm not in the least interested in a one-off. What would happen? They'd break Wolfgang out, do something to destroy BPO and live happily ever after. Hell, I could write that!

__________________"Fascism always comes in quietly, holding a flag in one hand and a holy book in the other, inching its way in. The bugles and drums only sound after they've already taken over and believe it's too late to do anything about it." JMS Twitter Dec. 24, 2017

They can speak for themselves. I'm not in the least interested in a one-off. What would happen? They'd break Wolfgang out, do something to destroy BPO and live happily ever after. Hell, I could write that!

Same here. I'd rather have nothing than a one off. I want at least 8 episodes. Even then, a rushed final season is likely to leave a somewhat bitter taste. If we'd got to S3, then it might have been viable, but there really does seems to be so much left to tell at this point.

__________________Captain John Sheridan: I really *hate* it when you do that.

JMS broke silence a bit tonight and conversed with some fans. I've been flipping back and forth between Twitter and Facebook so these aren't in a great order but you should be able to follow.

This was news. I'd thought Netflix owned it from the get-go.

__________________"Fascism always comes in quietly, holding a flag in one hand and a holy book in the other, inching its way in. The bugles and drums only sound after they've already taken over and believe it's too late to do anything about it." JMS Twitter Dec. 24, 2017

Just a short note here. I'm watching sense8 with a friend, we're only about to start episode 7 as we watch 2 or three episodes once a week when seh visits, if you're discussing the show in this non spoiler tagged thread could you please avoid revealing plot points? Ta.

__________________
"There are no good wars. War is always the worst possible way to resolve differences. It degenerates and corrupts both sides to ever more sordid levels of existence, in their need to gain an advantage over the enemy. Those actively involved in combat are almost always damaged goods for the rest of their lives. If their bodies don't bear scars, their minds do, ofttimes both. Many have said it before, but it can't be said to enough, war is hell. "

See, Netflix doesn't actually own the hit shows it airs. They are, instead, owned by other companies that make most of the money off those shows. And while that makes business sense for Netflix right now, this is also the greatest weakness in the company's strategy.

The show is actually made by the studio, which incurs production expenses in the course of making that show. It then sells the show to a network (or, in the case of Netflix, a streaming service), which pays a licensing fee to the studio for the content. Sometimes, that licensing fee is large enough to cover the studio's production costs; other times, the studio operates at a loss in hopes of recovering its money further down the line. (You can read more about this in my piece on why shows get canceled.)

...

There's a theoretically possible world in which Netflix's options on its programs expire and they go to some other streaming service (though that world is many years away and hard to imagine existing).

...

As the world increasingly shifts to one where streaming is the dominant model for providing content — a world Netflix has largely invented, mind — and more and more companies set up their own streaming services, making deals with Netflix may come to seem less and less of a good idea. And in that world, Netflix will probably have to build up "Netflix Studios" or something similar into a major player.

Since then "Netflix Studios" has been created and Sense8's second season was made through that, per its credits.

__________________
My posts are my own opinion and do not represent JMSNews.com's opinions or views. As it's written under my handle I'm "just a fan".